Renting to college students

Renting to college students

Richi BrownPro Member
Detroit, MI · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 18 votes

Hello my BP community!

Im a newbie investor in the Metro Detroit area that is still exploring the different niches that would be good for me! Originally I wanted to pursue multifamily but in the area I was interested in, multifamily properties are not very prominent. Im not completely turned off from multifamily in my area, but I want to also look into other niches that I could explore and see if there could be better options for me.

Within an hour radius there are some big universities that could have a great potential for college tenants. And within about 5 hours you could drive to just about any of the major universities in the state. That being said I am interested in potentially renting to college kids by the room in a 3-5 bedroom SFR or possibly even a multifamily if the numbers work. Is there anyone out there who has or currently is investing in college towns to students? What are pros and cons of doing it?

The two main cons I can think of are summer vacancies and a higher potential for property damage. But I feel like these both could easily get worked out by planning for it when running the numbers and also putting in place a higher security deposit to give extra incentive to the tenants. Are there any other cons I missed out on? Or are there any other ways to get around the ones mentioned? Any input is valuable and I appreciate ALL input!

Richi B

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  • Investor · Durham NC (and Brenham, TX) · Member since 2018 · 301 posts · 197 votes
    6y

    Hi @Richi Brown!  Congrats on getting started in investing :-)  There are certainly lots of folks out there who have done well with student rentals.. if you haven't already, be sure to check out episode 220 of the BP podcast for a good discussion on the topic.

    I think you can do really well if you have a good understanding of the demand for student rentals for the given university, and especially if you have some confidence that your property would be appealing to other members of the community as well, in case you have any issues with renting to students.  Renting by the room can be logistically difficult, but the potential for higher returns makes it really worth considering and putting in the time to come up with great systems for handling it.

  • New to Real Estate · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 59 posts · 31 votes
    6y

    I am a fan of the college student rentals! I rented a house myself during my Senior year in college and had two roommates (both of which were my friends).

    I agree with @Annchen Knodt - renting by the room would be tough.  You'd be better of marketing to a small group of friends who have interest in living together.  

  • Richi BrownPro Member
    OP
    Detroit, MI · Member since 2020 · 24 posts · 18 votes
    6y

    @Annchen Knodt Thank you for your input and the episode recommendation! I have not listened to that one yet so I will check it out. I agree 100% with your take on renting by the room. Before I even thought about getting into real estate, my girlfriend was a college student in a small town that was home to a large university that was the backbone of the community. Her apartment complex she lived in also did renting by the room to the students and at the time I thought it was so bizarre and weird because I never heard of the concept. But now from an investing standpoint it seems like an awesome way to maximize ROI. I also liked your take on making it marketable to others besides college students. So that I have multiple options and strategies to pursue.

    @Shane Cummings Thats awesome to hear, do you have any pointers from a tenants prospective, on the best way to go about attracting students? How did you and your friends find the property? One of my concerns would be marketing to college students specifically, I never attended a physical university so I do not have any insights on good resources/avenues to explore for contacting these students specifically.   

  • New to Real Estate · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 59 posts · 31 votes
    6y

    @Richi Brown - we found the property by luck, actually. We were meeting with property management companies and happened to see one in a small shopping plaza so we went inside. They had this house available for rent.

    I think we were paying around $1,500 total for rent for a 3/2 house and the mortgage could not have been more than $700 or so. Was probably a great property for the landlord.

    Your best bet would be to work with a local property manager that knows the market and knows how to advertise to prospective tenants.

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